Hong Kong, it is forbidden to remember Tiananmen: three ‘guilty’ activists

Guilty. Three democracy activists, including the information magnate Jimmy Lai, who were targeted for accusations related to last year’s vigil to recall the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989 are for a Hong Kong court. The initiative was banned. by the authorities of the former British colony. Joining Jimmy Lai are Chow Hang Tung, a lawyer and vice president of the Hong Kong Alliance in support of China’s patriotic democratic movements, which dissolved in September, and activist and former reporter Gwyneth Ho. Jimmy Lai, 74-year-old founder of the Apple Daily newspaper closed in the summer, is found guilty of instigating other people to participate in an unauthorized initiative. Same reasons for Chow, while Ho is guilty – according to Hong Kong Free Press – of having attended the appointment. Next Monday, the convictions. The three are already in jail, on trial under the disputed ‘national security’ law. They dismissed the charges and denounced how the convictions would violate the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Last year, for the first time in 30 years, Hong Kong authorities banned the annual June 4 vigil in memory of the victims of Tiananmen Square, officially for reasons related to the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative was banned again this year and a total of 24 people, former politicians and activists, ended up under accusation. According to the South China Morning Post, ten of them have already been sentenced to up to ten months in prison.